Plane crash in Cape May County leaves two dead

DENNISVILLE -- A father and his 12-year-old son were killed today when their plane crashed in Cape May County on their way to a hunting trip in Indiana, authorities said.

Thaddeus Lazowski, 53, of Dennis Township, and his son, also named Thaddeus, had taken off from Woodbine Municipal Airport around 11 a.m. before they soon slammed deep into a wooded area, half a mile from the runway, said State Police Sgt. Stephen Jones and Arlene Salac, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration. The crash occurred a half mile from the nearest street, Petersburg Road in Dennisville, part of Dennis Township.

The two died from massive trauma from the crash, Jones said.

Anthony Smedile/The Associated Press Emergency responders walk out of the woods near the Woodbine Airport in Woodbine, N.J., the scene of a plane crash today that killed a father and son.

FAA records state the plane was a Piper Cherokee Arrow, a fixed-wing, single engine plane. The elder Lazowski was the registered owner of the aircraft, which was manufactured in 1972.

Investigators did not identify the accident’s cause today, but Jones noted a piece of a wing from the plane was found about 300 yards from the point of impact.

"It came down fairly steep," Jones said about the trajectory of the plane. The debris field was within a 15 yard radius of the crash, he said. It was not clear if weather played a factor in the accident, Jones said. Cloud cover was low at the time, but there was little or no rain and light wind, he said.

The FAA is investigating the accident along with the state Division of Aeronautics and the State Police, Jones said.